Appliance for use in sharpening or resharpening safety-razor blades



Sept. I, T953 A L. wALToN 2550357 APPLIANCE FOR USE IN SHARPENING OR RESHARPENING SAFETY-RAZOR BLADES Filed July 1s, 1951 Patented Sept. 1, 1953 APPLIANCE FOR USE IN SHARPENING OR RESHARPENING SAFETY-RAZOR BLADES Alfred Leonard Walton, Blackpool, England Application July 13, 195.1, Serial No. 236,489 In Great Britain January 25, 1951 The present invention relates to appliances for sharpening'or re-sharpening safety razor blades.

Inmy prior U. S. Patent No. 2,549,148, dated april i7, 1951, I have described an appliance which is hand operated by a reciprocal movement over and pressure upon a relatively stationary surface, and comprises at least two spaced s harpeningrollers upon the curved surfaces of which the cutting edges of the blade can be broughtto bear, anda driving roller mounted in slotted bearings so that, when rotated in one direction by contact with the said relatively stationarysurface, it will move into engagement with 'oneof the'sharpening rollers and cause rotation of this roller in adirection away from the edge of the `blade in contact with "this roller and, when rotated in the opposite direction by contact with the relatively stationary surface, it will move into engagement with the other sharpening roller and cause rotation of this other roller ina direction away from the edge of the blade in contact withthis roller. A

One of the objects ofthe present invention is to provide an appliance suitable for use insharpening or re-sharpening a single-edgedblade from one side at a time.

` "loofthisend the appliance comprises a frame, a seating on the frame for the blade to be sharpcned, a sharpening roller mounted for rotation in a liked position on the frame and s o located that when the blade is applied to theseating one side of the cutting edge of, the latter will bear on the curved surface of. the said roller, and a driving, roller mounted in slotted bearings in the frame'sothat, whenithe appliance is moved in one direction over a, stationary surface, such as a table-top, with the driving roller in contact with this surface, the sharpening roller will be caused to rotate in a direction resulting in movement thereof into engagement with the sharpening roller with consequent rotation of the sharpening roller in a direction away from the cutting edge of the blade, while, when the appliance is moved in the opposite direction over the said surface, the driving roller will move out of engagement with the sharpening roller so that rotation ofthe latter will cease.

The appliance may include a casing which engages slidably and removably over the frame and is so formed that it can be used to apply pressure to the blade so as to hold the latter rmly down on its seating during the sharpening operation.

The casing may also be so formed that it can be used to apply pressure to the blade at a point s claims. (el. 541-81) intermediate its cutting edge and back edge, thereby maintaining the cutting edge in contact with the curved surface of the sharpening roller with the requisite degree of pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an appliance suitable for use in sharpening or re-sharpening a single-edged blade from both sides at the same time.

To this end the appliance comprises a frame, a casing engaging slidably and removably' over the frame, a seating on the frame for the blade to be sharpened, a sharpening roller mounted for rotation in a fixed position on the frame and so located that, when the blade is applied to the seating, one sideY of'rthe cutting edge of the blade w'ill'bear on the curved surface of the said roller, a sharpening roller mounted for rotation in a iixed position in the casing and so located that, when the casing'is applied to the frame, the said roller will have surface contact lwith the sharpening roller on lthe frame and will also bear on the other side of the cutting edge of the blade, the cutting edge being thereby engaged in the nip between the two rollers,` and a driving roller mounted in slotted bearings in theframe so that, when the appliance is moved in one direction over a stationary surface, such as a table-top, with the driving roller in contact with. this surface, the sharpening roller will be caused to rotate in a direction resulting in movement thereof into engagement with the sharpening roller on the frame with consequent rotation of this roller and of the sharpening roller on the casing in a direction away from the cutting edge of the blade, while, when the appliance is moved in the opposite direction over the said surface, the driving Vroller will move out of engagement with the' sharpening roller on the frame so that rotation of this roller and of the sharpening roller on the casing will cease.

In the arrangement described and illustrated in my prior patent referred to above Ithe appliance is designed to act on both sides of the two cutting edges of a double-edge `blade simultaneously. For this purpose, the appliance has two pairs of sharpening rollers, one roller of each pair being carried by a frame and the other roller of the pair being carried by a casing fitting over the frame, and there is employed a driving roller carriedI by the frame and movable into engagement with the one o r the other sharpening roller of the frame.'

A further object of the present invention is to provide an appliance suitable for use in sharpening or re-sharpening the two edges of a 3 double-edged blade from one side only at the same time.

To this end the appliance comprises a frame, means on the frame for locating the blade to be sharpened, two spaced sharpening rollers supported for rotation in xed positions on the frame and so located that, when the blade is applied to the locating means, the cutting edges of the blade will bear by one side on the curved surfaces of the respective sharpening rollers, and a driving roller mounted in slotted bearings in the frame so that, when the appliance is reciprocatedover a stationary surface, such as a tabletop, with the driving roller in contact with this surface, the roller will be caused to rotate firstly in a direction resulting in movement thereof into engagement with one of the sharpening rollers with consequent rotation of this roller in a di,-

rection away from the corresponding cutting edge of the blade, and secondly in a direction to bring the driving roller out of engagement with the first-mentioned sharpening roller and into engagement with the other lsharpening roller with consequent rotation of this rollerk in a direction also away from the corresponding cutting edge of the blade.

The construction just explained may include a casing engaging slidably and removably over the frame and so designed that it can be used to ex the blade for the purpose of maintaining thecutting edges of the blade in pressure-contact with the sharpening rollers.

The construction of the casing may, furthermore be such that'the pressure-contact of the cutting edges of the blade with the sharpening rollers is limited to avoid excessive pressure being applied.

, In another construction of the casing, the lat- Vter is fitted with resilient pads which serve the `two-fold purpose of applying even pressure to the blade and frictionally gripping the blade-locating means on the frame when the casing is applied to the frame and is pressed downwardly.

Reference is now made'to the accompanying drawings which contain five gures, marked 1 to 5, illustrating in cross-section the appliance when constructed according to ve varying forms respectively. 1

The construction according to Figure 1 is designed fOr sharpening or re-sharpening, from one side only at a time, a single-edge blade. To this end the construction consists of a rectangular frame I carrying a single sharpening roller 2. The roller is mounted for rotation in a xed postiion in the frame and is arranged nearer one end vwall of the frame than the other end-wall,

Athe roller being of such diameter that its upper part projects above the frame.

The upper edge of the frame is formed with a seating 3 adaptedto receive and locate the thickened back edge portion of a single-edged blade 4, the seating being so positioned relatively to the roller 2 that when the back edge portion of the blade is engagedV therein, the cutting edge of the blade will bear by one of its sides on the top of the l.curved surface of the roller.

yThe side walls of the frame I are formed with depending lugs 5 in each of which there is provided a slot 6 extending horizontally. The end portions of aspindle [engage freely in these slots 6, and a driving roller 8 is securedv around .the spindle.V The axis of the driving roller 8 liesrbelow the axis ofthe sharpening roller 2 and the driving roller is of such diameter that its lower part projects below the lugs 5 and movement of its spindle 'I along the slots 6 towards the sharpening roller 2 will cause the driving roller to come into surface-contact with the sharpening roller.

The construction now being described includes a box-like casing 9 with an open base, the casing tting slidably and removably over the frame I. The casing is formed nteriorly with two depending webs I0 and II. After the blade 4 has been applied to the frame I in the manner described, in the absence of the casing 9, and the casing is now applied to the frame and pressed downwardly, the web I0 will bear on the thickened back edge portion of the blade so as to hold this portion in the seating 3, while the web I I will apply a degree of pressure to a part of the blade situated near the cutting edge, there- .by maintaining one side of the cutting edge in close contact with the sharpening roller 2,

To perform a sharpening operation, the assembled appliancerwith the blade 4 in position is applied to a flat surface, such as a table-top, with the exposed part of the driving roller 8 resting on the said surface.` By nowV moving the appliance in the direction of the arrow a, the driving roller 8 will be rotated in the direction of the arrow b and at the same time will move into surface-contact with the sharpening roller 2, thereby rotating the roller 2 in the directionof the arrow c, that is to say, inra direction away from the cutting edge of the blade. When the appliance is moved in the opposite direction, the driving roller will bev caused to move out of contact with the sharpening roller so that rotation of the latter will cease, Y Hence, during movement of the appliance to-and-fro over the flat surface, the sharpening roller can only be rotated in a direction away from the cutting edge of the blade.

When one side of the cutting edge of the blade has been sharpened, the casing 9 is removed, the blade 4 turned over, the casing replaced, and the sharpening operation repeated for the other side of the cutting edge.

The construction according to Figure 2'isY designed for sharpening or re-sharpening the cutting edge of .a single-edged blade from bothsides at the same time, thereby avoiding the necessity for turning over the blade to complete the sharpening operation. i

In this construction, the frame and its associated parts are of the -same form as those. in the arrangement according to Figure 1, and like parts bear like reference characters to avoid repetition of description.

AS before, the construction includes a box-like casing 9 fitting slidably and removably over the frame I, the casing being formed with a depending web It! adapted to bear on the back edge portion of the blade 4. In the present instance, instead lof the casing having a second depending web, it is provided with a sharpening roller I2 which is of the same diameter as the sharpening roller 2 and which, with the casing fitted over the frame, lies directly vabove and has surface contact with the roller 2, the cutting edge of the blade (when present) Athen being engaged inthe nip between the two rollers 2 and I2 so that the roller2 has contact with one side lof the cutting edge, while the roller YI2 has contact with the other side. n

The construction according to 'Figure 2 works yin much the same way as that according to Figure 1, asv will be apparent from a consideration of the arrows a, b and c. In this instance, however,

rotation of the sharpening roller 2 will cause rotation of the sharpening roller I2 and from this Vit follows that, as the roller 2 is rotatable only in a direction away from the cutting edge of the blade, so is the roller I2 rotatable only in a direction away from the cutting edge as indicated by the arrow d, the combined rotation of both rollers resulting in both sides of the cutting edge being sharpened simultaneously.

'I'he construction according to Figure 3 is suitable for use in sharpening the two cutting edges of a double-edged blade from one side only at the one time.

In this construction, as before, the frame I has lugs containing slots 6 in which are freely engaged the end portions of a spindle I tted with a driving roller 8. In other respects the frame differs. It is provided with two spaced sharpening rollers I3 and I4 which are of equal size and are arranged one on either side of the driving roller 8, the distance between the axes of these sharpening rollers being the same as or slightly greater than the width of the blade I5 to be sharpened. The diameter of the sharpening rollers in comparison with the diameter of the driving roller 8 and the length of the slots 6 is such that the driving roller can have contact with either the roller I3 or the roller I4, but not with both at the same time.

The upper edge of the frame I is formed with a cross-bar I6 which is arranged midway between the sharpening rollers I3 and I4 and the upper surface of which forms a seating for the blade I5, this upper surface being so located that it lies in a plane slightly below a plane joining the upper extremities of the curved surfaces of the sharpening rollers. The cross-bar carries upwardly projecting pins I'I adapted to pass through the usual holes in the blade so as to locate the latter on the cross-bar, with the cutting edges of the blade resting on the upper part of the curved surfaces of the rollers I3 and I4.

The appliance according to Figure 3 includes a box-like casing 9 tting slidably and removably over the frame I. holes I8 through which the pins I'I project when the casing is applied to the frame. The casing is also formed interiorly with downwardly extending webs I9 adapted to bear on the blade at points situated near the cutting edges of the latter so as to press the undersides of the cutting edges of the blade against the curved surfaces of the sharpening rollers I3 and I4, such pressure also resulting in the blade being held down rmly on the cross-bar I6.

When, in the absence of the casing 9, a blade is engaged over the pins I'I and the casing is then replaced, the sharpening operation is performed by reciprocating the appliance over a flat surface in the manner explained with reference to the preceding iigures. Under these conditions, when the appliance is moved to the right in the figure, the driving roller B will be rotated clockwise and at the same time will move bodily into contact with the sharpening roller I3, causing this roller to be rotated anti-clockwise, that is to say, in a direction away from the edge of the blade in contact with the roller I3. When the appliance is moved to the left, the driving roller 8 will be rotated anti-clockwise and at the same time move out of contact with the sharpening roller I3 and into engagement; with the sharpening roller I4. Hence, rotation of the roller I3 will cease while the roller I4 will be rotated clockwise, that is to say, in a direction away from the corresponding The casing has clearance replacing the casing and reciprocating the appliance over the at surface once again.

The construction illustrated in Figure 4 has .much in common with that according to Figure 3 and similar parts are identied by the same reference numerals. In this instance, however, the sharpening rollers I3 and I4 are made a little larger in diameter Vso that the upper parts of their curved surfaces project in a more pronounced fashion above the upper surface of the cross-bar IB. The diameter of the driving roller 8 is correspondingly reduced to compensate for the increased diameter of the sharpening rollers.

In Figure 4 the casing 9, which is again of boxlike form and lits slidably over the frame I, is formed with bushes 20 which project downwardly from the top part of the casing and fit freely over the blade-locating pins I1 on the cross-bar I6, the lower ends of the bushes being adapted to bear on the portion of the blade I5 which is situated directly above the cross-bar. With this arrangement, when downward pressure is applied to the casing 9, the blade will be flexed downwardly to maintain its cutting edges pressed against the sharpening roller, the amount of pressure exerted on the blade in this fashion being positively limited by the pinching of the central part of the blade between the upper surface of the cross-bar and the lower ends of the bushes 20. Thus the degree of pressure-contact of the cutting edges of the blade on the sharpening rollers can never be excessive. y

The construction according to Figure 5 is, in many respects, the same as that of Figure 3, similar parts being marked with similar reference numerals. The main purpose of Figure 5 is to illustrate a distinct variation in the form of the casing 9.

In Figure 5 the casing is again of box-like form adapted to t slidably and detachably over the frame I. In this instance, however, instead of the casing being formed with clearance holes for the blade-locating pins II, it is provided interiorly with a pair of pads 2I of rubber or other suitable resilient material, which are arranged close together and extend in the direction of the length of the cross-bar I6. The pads are substantially of reclining S-shape in cross-section and are held in the upper part of the casing by means of bars 22.

When the casing 9 is applied over the frame I and is pressed downwardly, the pins I1 will engage between the pads and will be frictionally gripped by the latter, the casing being thereby retained in engagement with the frame when the appliance is in use. At the same time, portions of the pad will bear resiliently on parts of the blade lying on each side of the locating pins I1 and thus apply even pressure to the blade in a downward direction so as to maintain the cutting edges in contact with the sharpening rollers I3 and I4 when the appliance is in use.

I claim:

1. An appliance for use in sharpening or resharpening safety-razor blades comprising a frame, two sharpening rollers rotatably supported in said frame and disposed in spaced parallel relationship, a cross bar on said frame disposed midway. betweensaid sharpening rollers, Vsaid bar being vadapted to provide a seating for the blade to be sharpened which seatingis Vdisa driving roller mounted in slotted `bearings in the frame so that dependent upon the Adirection of movement of the latter, saidV driving roller will bemoved into,driving'relationship with one or other of said sharpening rollers, a casing adapted slidably to engage over the frame, and resilient means carried by said casing and adapted on vvapplication of the latter to said frame to apply an even pressure to any blade positioned on the cross barand. also frictionally to grip the proljecting pins carried by 'said cross bar, the construction being such that with a blade positioned in the frame and the casing applied to the latter when the appliance is reciprocated over a stationary surface with the driving roller in contact with the latter, said roller will be caused to rotate rs'tlyin a direction resulting in movement thereofinto engagement with one of the sharpening rollers with consequent rotation of this roller in a'direction away from the corresponding cutting -edgeof the blade, and secondly in a direction to bringlthe driving'roller' out of engagement with uthe first-mentioned sharpening roller and into engagement with the other sharpening roller with ai consequent rotation of'this vroller in a direction also away from the corresponding cutting edge of tue/blade.

2; An Yappliance for use in sharpening or resharpenin'g safety-razor blades comprising a frame; two sharpening' rollers rotatably supi ported in' said frame and disposed in spaced parallel relationship, a cross bar on` said frame disposed midway between said sharpening rollers,`

said bar being adapted to provide a seating for the blade to be sharpened which seating is disposed in a plane slightly below that joining the upper extremities 'of the curved surfaces of the sharpening rollers, projecting pins on said bar for locating the blade with respect to the latter,

adrivingroller mounted in slotted bearings'in :theframe so that dependent upon the direction Vof movement of the latter, said driving roller will be moved into driving relationship with one or` other `of said sharpeningvrollers, a casing adapted slidably to engage over the frame, and two pads of resilient material affixed in spaced parallel relationship to the inner surface of said casing and adapted on application of the latter to said frame to apply an even pressure to any blade positioned on the cross bar and also frictionally to grip the projecting pins carried by said cross bar, the construction being such that with a blade positioned in the frame and the casing applied to thelatter when the appliance is reciprocated over a stationary surface with the driving roller in contact with the latter, said roller will be caused to rotate firstly in a direction resultingY in movement thereof into engagement with one of the sharpening rollers with consequent rotation of this roller in a direction away from the corresponding cutting edge of the blade, and secondly in a direction to bring the driving roller out of engagement with the firstmentioned sharpening roller and into engagementwith the 4other sharpening roller with a consequent rotation of this roller in a direction also away from the corresponding cutting edge of the blade.

l 3. An appliance for use in sharpening or resharpening safety-razor blades as claimed in claim 2 wherein the pads of resilient material comprise strips substantially of reclining S-shape in cross section. l ALFRED LEONARD WALTON.

`'Reference-s cited in the nie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,061,444 Willcox NOV. 17,1936 2,549,148A Walton Apr. 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 448,431 Great Britain June 8, 1936 

